Contact

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector, particularly for use with aluminum wire, has a body formed of aluminum including a contact portion plated with nickel overlaid with a plating of gold and an epoxy coating which seals from the atmosphere all junctures between dissimilar metals.

United States Patent [191 lacobucci 1 1 CONTACT [75] Inventor: CesidioR. Iacobucci, LaCrescenta,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Flight Connector Corporation,

Hawthorne, Calif.

22 Filed: May9, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 468,467

[52] US. Cl 339/278 C [51] Int. Cl. "01R 3/02 [58] Field of Search .1339/278 C [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,904,241 4/1933Kammerer 339/278 C UX 2,858,520 10/1958 Chance, Jr. 339/278 C X Dec. 23,1975 2,868,863 l/l959 Cook 339/278 C X 2,988,665 6/1961 Duran 339/278 CX 3,175,181 3/1965 Grabbe 339/278 C 3,784,729 l/l974 Davis et al.339/278 C Primary Examiner.loseph l-l. McGlynn Assistant Examiner-HowardN. Goldberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Harness, Dickey & Pierce [5 7]ABSTRACT An electrical connector, particularly for use with aluminumwire, has a body formed of aluminum including a contact portion platedwith nickel overlaid with a plating of gold and an epoxy coating whichseals from the atmosphere all junctures between dissimilar metals.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 3,927,841

CONTACT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Terminal connectors for electricalconductors made of aluminum have heretofore commonly been made ofcopper, to which the aluminum wire is secured by welding. Difficulty hasdeveloped because of the fact that electrolytic action causes corrosionat the juncture of the dissimilar metals whenever anything which can actas an electrolyte is present. Differential expansion of the copper andaluminum under temperature changes has also resulted in failures.

The overall object of the present invention is to provide an improvedterminal connector which is less subject to failures of the characterindicated, and which is economical to produce, easy to apply, compactand efficient.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon consideration ofthe present disclosure in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevationalview on an enlarged scale, partly broken away, of a terminal connectorconstructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a partly diagrammatic view on a still larger scale of theportion contained within the circle II in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED FORM OF THE INVENTION Referencecharacter designates generally the body of a terminal connector intendedfor use with aluminum wire. The body is formed of aluminum, having asocket 12 opening at its rear end and in which the end of an aluminumconductor (not shown) may be secured as by welding or other conventionalmeans. Inasmuch as the terminal and the conductor are formed of likemetals, differential expansion and electrolytic corrosion do not createa problem in this area.

At its other end the body has an integral contact portion shown as aprong 15. A larger intermediate gripping portion has a reduced centralportion 18. A plating 20 of a hard metal, preferably of nickel, isapplied to the forward portion of the terminal, covering the prong 15and continuing uninterruptedly rearwardly over the body to a positionoverlying the reduced section I8, the rear end of such plating, which isshown greatly enlarged in FIG. 2, being designated 22. A plating 25 ofan inert or noble highly conductive metal, preferably gold, is appliedover the plating 20, and extends in similar fashion to a position withinthe reduced area 18 but terminates, at the position designated 28,forwardly of the rear extremity 22 of the plating 20.

In order to prevent electrolytic action at the juncture of the plating25 with the plating 20, and at thejuneture of the plating with thealuminum body, a continuous layer 30 of adherent protective imperviousinert material such as an epoxy plastic is applied over the reduced area18, covering and sealed to the rear end portions 22 and 28 of theplatings, as well as to the wall of the reduced portion 18 at the rearof the platings. Inasmuch as the platings are uninterrupted in all areasforward of the sealed junctures, the inert top gold layer completes thesealing, so that electrolytic action is prevented.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form asapplied to an aluminum body adapted for use with an aluminum conductor,similar principles could be applied with other metals, by matching thematerial of the terminal in similar fashion to that of the conductor,and in like fashion sealing the dissimilar plated or coated covering(s)in the contacting areas where such metals join and would otherwise beexposed and accessible to an electrolyte. It will also be understoodthat specific details of configuration of the contact structure aresubject to variation and do not in themselves constitute part of thepresent invention.

This Detailed Description of Preferred Form of the Invention, and theaccompanying drawings, have been furnished in compliance with thestatutory requirement to set forth the best mode contemplated by theinventor of carrying out the invention. The prior portions consisting ofthe Abstract of the Disclosure and the Background of the Invention arefurnished without prejudice to comply with administrative requirementsof the Patent Office.

What is claimed is:

l. A metallic electrical terminal member having a body including aconnection portion adapted to be attached to a conductor which is formedof a metal similar to that of the body, said body having a contactportion integral with and spaced from the connection portion, acontinuous uninterrupted metallic plating covering said contact portionand extending therefrom on said body uninterruptedly toward and entirelyaround the body but terminating at a position spaced from the connectionend of the body, and an inert plastic seal bonded to the body and to theplating and completely covering the juncture areas of the plating andbody, the body being aluminum and the plating comprising an outer layerof a noble metal.

2. A terminal member as defined in claim 1 wherein the body is aluminumand the plating comprises a layer of a hard metal overlaid by an outerlayer of a noble metal and said seal also covers the juncture areas ofthe two plating layers.

3. A terminal member as defined in claim 2 wherein the hard metal isnickel and the noble metal is gold.

4. A terminal member as defined in claim 3 wherein the plastic seal isan adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.

5. A terminal member as defined in claim 3 wherein the plastic seal isan epoxy adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.

6. A terminal member as defined in claim 1 wherein the plastic seal isan adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.

1. A metallic electrical terminal member having a body including aconnection portion adapted to be attached to a conductor which is formedof a metal similar to that of the body, said body having a contactportion integral with and spaced from the connection portion, acontinuous uninterrupted metallic plating covering said contact portionand extending therefrom on said body uninterruptedly toward and entirelyaround the body but terminating at a position spaced from the connectionend of the body, and an inert plastic seal bonded to the body and to theplating and completely covering the juncture areas of the plating andbody, the body being aluminum and the plating comprising an outer layerof a noble metal.
 2. A terminal member as defined in claim 1 wherein thebody is aluminum and the plating comprises a layer of a hard metaloverlaid by an outer layer of a noble metal and said seal also coversthe juncture areas of the two plating layers.
 3. A terminal member asdefined in claim 2 wherein the hard metal is nickel and the noble metalis gold.
 4. A terminal member as defined in claim 3 wherein the plasticseal is an adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.5. A terminal member as defined in claim 3 wherein the plastic seal isan epoxy adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.6. A terminal member as defined in claim 1 wherein the plastic seal isan adhesive material bonded both to the plating and to the body.